Pentax K-5 IIs versus rival model with similar score

Further readings for the Pentax K-5 IIs

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The K-S1 is Pentax’s latest entry-level DSLR featuring a 20.1Mp APS-C CMOS sensor and Anti Aliasing filter simulator. Targeted towards consumers taking their first plunge into DSLR photography, the K-S1 boasts a compact design, flashing LED lights, illuminated rear controls and choice of 12 colours. With the sensor scores in, lets see how the K-S1 compares to the competition.

With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil approaching, this is the time manufacturers with serious interests in professional sports start revealing new cameras and lenses to selected press agencies. Both Canon and Nikon are rumored to be fielding prototype professional-level APS-C bodies during the tournament for testing. However, rival Sony appears to have stolen a march by introducing the SLT Alpha 77 II ahead of the games.

Nikon’s incremental revisions to their entry-level D3000 series cameras means the latest model, the Nikon D3300 can compete with most other models in the range and should prove tempting against rival offerings. Read on to find out how the 24-Mpix sans AA filter D3300 performs.

Although the Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs have now been replaced by the Pentax K-3, we’ve analyzed the two models with a range of lenses from both Pentax and third-party makers and thought the results would be of interest to our readers. The information is available online but we taken the opportunity to offer a brief overview of the best performing models. Read on to see how well the lenses perform together on the two cameras.

Continuing our series of evaluation of lens systems we’ve assessed a modest range of Pentax and third-party lenses for their optical quality on the firm’s new flagship Pentax K-3 model. As the replacement for the K-5 II and K-5 IIs, the Pentax K-3 has a new higher pixel density 24-Mpix sensor without an AA filter, and is a promising platform for lens evaluation. Read on to find out which models perform best, and which, if any, that should be avoided.

Continuing our series of evaluation of lens systems we’ve assessed a modest range of Pentax and third-party lenses for their optical quality on the firm’s new flagship Pentax K-3 model. As the replacement for the K-5 II and K-5 IIs, the Pentax K-3 has a new higher pixel density 24-Mpix sensor without an AA filter, and is a promising platform for lens evaluation. Read on to find out which models perform best, and which, if any, that should be avoided.

After the success of the 16-Mpix K-5II and K-5IIs without AA filter, Pentax has replaced the pair with a new flagship model, the K-3, with a 24-Mpix sensor boasting a user-selectable AA filter for control over moiré and sharpness, depending on the situation. Read on to find out how this unique sensor performs?

Released in April 2013, the Ricoh GR goes by the tagline of “Everything is big, except the size”. It points clearly to the raison d’être of this camera – to be a compact model with a large sensor with the aim of offering DSLR-like performance without the size and weight associated with them. As with several models in this niche, it seems to hark back to days gone by with a retro style. While this impacts the versatility of the camera, it’s much easier to make a high quality prime lens that can extract the most from the large, 16megapixel APS-C sensor tucked away inside. Within this sector we’ve seen some very good cameras through the labs in recent months, so the GR has got stiff competition.

Launched in March 2013 the $1097 Coolpix A is Nikon’s first compact camera with an APC-S sensor and features the same 16.2-megapixel DX sensor from Nikon’s D7000 DSLR but with its optical low-pass filter removed. Utilizing a fixed NIKKOR 18.5mm f/2.8 prime lens (equivalent to 28mm in 35mm terms) the Nikon Coolpix A has the right ingredients for great image quality so let’s see how it performs.

Although the new Nikon D7100 looks fairly similar to its predecessor (the popular Nikon D7000), Nikon has made some significant changes under the hood that belie the surface similarity. The D7100 not only includes a higher-resolution CMOS sensor, but even more significantly, the company chose to use a sensor without an anti-alias filter for the first time on a non-full-frame DSLR. While this should enable better sharpness and resolution, it may also result in more moiré patterns in some images.